The historian Alan Brinkley
has observed that we will soon enter the fourth decade in which
Congress — and therefore government as a whole — has failed to deal
with any major national problem, from infrastructure to education. The
gridlock isn’t only a function of polarized politics and special
interests. There’s also been a gaping leadership deficit.

George W. Bush had a much easier time enacting his agenda because he
simply decided to finance the entire thing with borrowing and got his
party to go along.

The second problem is that, even if Democrats could reduce the
deficit on their own and somehow could be insulated from the political
harm, they have no incentive to do it. Why should they, when the
Republicans don't share the goal? [...] There's no set of fiscal circumstances
under which Republicans would not enact large tax cuts if given the
votes to do so.

Kingman says the events he hosts are community art. The city says they are dangerous parties.

"It just so happens my medium is people," Kingman said the other day
while his newest artwork played on a computer -- a video of naked
people dancing while he "painted" them with colored lasers. "I try to
bring people out of themselves."

I've attended one of them. The live music was very good. The crowd,
diverse, although maybe self-selecting for a tolerance of
pretentiousness. The food was ample and high quality and the beer was
free.

The wood fire was too smoky for my taste, but his braziers were cool
looking, and I never felt close to being endangered. The few commenters
on the Strib column seem to agree.

Here's one where Jeff and I probably agree, too.

*****

Then, there's this story, where an artist goes without fire altogether.

SERIOUS cold, Justen Ladda said, is when the sponge in the kitchen sink
feels like wood or the toothpaste freezes or the refrigerator turns
itself off, as it did one particularly frigid day last winter. Not that
Mr. Ladda, a 56-year-old sculptor who has lived heat-free in his Lower
East Side loft for three decades, is bothered by such extremes. “Winter
comes and goes,” he’ll tell you blithely, adjusting his black wool
scarf and watch cap. (Along with fingerless gloves, long underwear and
felt slippers, they are part of Mr. Ladda’s at-home uniform when the
mercury dips.)

In an interview with The Connecticut Post, he said he had been
refining his views on health care for many years and was “very focused
on a group post-50, or maybe more like post-55” whose members should be
able to buy Medicare if they lacked insurance.

This week, when
there actually seemed to be a compromise on health care that did not
focus on Mr. Lieberman, he announced that he would block the package if
the Democrats included a terrible idea — allowing people between 55 and
65 to buy Medicare.

The tougher choice for the president would have been to tell the public
that the U.S. is a nation faced with terrible troubles here at home and
that it is time to begin winding down a war that veered wildly off
track years ago. But that would have taken great political courage. It
would have left Mr. Obama vulnerable to the charge of being weak, of
cutting and running, of betraying the troops who have already served.
The Republicans would have a field day with that scenario.

And political field days, as we all know, are what really matter in a country badly in need of some nation building of its own.

Partnered with a corrupt government, Pres. Obama is now officially stuck fighting an unwinnable war against a tribal society across a harsh land that has defeated every comer throughout history, so he can claim some temporary, limited victory.

The House Financial Services Committee voted yesterday to give
regulators the authority to break up large financial firms that create
too much systemic risk, in an effort to prevent future financial
crises. The vote
passed by a 38-29 margin, but three Democrats joined with all
Republicans voting no. Those three Democrats--Melissa Bean (D-IL), Dan
Maffei (D-NY), and Gregory Meeks (D-NY)--received an average of $99,483
from banks' PACs in the last two years, 119% more than the average of
$45,358 received by the 38 Democrats voting for tougher regulation.

Comparing the averages implies that the financial industry exerted a disproportionate influence over the three Democrats voting against the regulation.

But the top three Democratic members who voted for the legislation collected more than $435,ooo from the banks PACs, versus only $298,000 for the three Democrats voting against. Committee Chair Barney Frank and bill co-sponsor Paul Kanjorsky together took more PAC money than the breakaway three.

And when you look at the total dollars paid out by the industry to the top 15 recipients — which includes all three "no" voters — the 12 Democratic supporters of tougher regulation among that group collected almost $1.126 million. The other "yes" voters got another $1.384 million.

It's just possible the three Democrats voted the interests of their districts or their consciences. Looking at the money alone doesn't tell us that, but the analysis makes a dark inference.

As for the Republicans, we don't know how much they got. The analysis doesn't tell us the average amount that "bought" the GOP votes.

One of the hoariest cliches coming from political campaigns — especially from challengers — is "I'm going to fight for you!"

The fired-up candidate promises to cut taxes, save marriage, expand health care, find jobs for laid-off workers, stop illegal immigration or stop Wall Street from making piles of money. Even (especially?) in local elections, they start out angry about something — fluoride in the water, snowplowing or building inspectors — hoping to storm into office buoyed by other mad people.

Now, Greenfield and its mayor are discovering how that sort of thing works out.

Anger has its place in politics, I guess. It may work when running a campaign, but it's no way to run a railroad. Mayors are supposed to be able to run their cities, or at least supervise the people who do.

Anger carried into office can turn into dysfunction, just as it does in families. It puts the wrong people in charge, or more often, puts them on the back bench.

I tried to think of something a person could do better angry than not. All I could come up with was murder; they'd also be better at getting caught.

"Angry" candidates are either inauthentic, clueless or destined to be ineffective. I'm all for passion, but please spare me the pre-fight routine.

Asked whether she might consider an office beyond the House, Ms.
Bachmann, who has announced plans to seek re-election, did not address
other possibilities. “I am focused 100 percent on representing
Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District and ensuring their voices are
heard in Washington,” she wrote in an e-mail response to questions.

Rep. Bachmann has a funny definition of 100-percent focus. For example, she has one of the highest profiles with those noted 6th District constituent services fellows Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Larry King. At the same time, she's missed roughly one-sixth of her Congressional votes (making her record one of the very worst in Washington).

Now, I don't think showing up is necessarily a measure of effectiveness, so we can cut her a bit of Across the Great Divide Slack™.

But what about, you know, getting bills passed to benefit her constituents, make the state run more efficiently, improve educational performance or even cut taxes?

I can't find the link right now, but I did check Bachmann's record in the Minnesota Legislature and found that she managed to pass two bills she sponsored in her entire career. One got a stretch of highway named in memory of a state trooper killed in the line of duty and the other added a small patch of lakeshore to an existing veteran's park.

Otherwise, she was a complete non-factor at Capitol. But she learned she didn't have to be — not if she struck controversial poses and flirted in that wholesome Christian way of hers. Saying insane things in plain English was called "straight talk," which is highly favored in some quarters over the difficult and nuanced truth.

She became the golden girl for people who don't want government to do anything, anyway.

She's carried that brand of service to Washington, and spiffed it up with a hard-working outreach campaign that keeps her positions — if not her accomplishments — constantly in front of her supporters.

But if Rep. Bachmann were to accomplish something in Washington, it would be something like this:

“After years of
discussion and planning, I am pleased to announce that the future VA
Community Based Outpatient Clinic, which will provide increased access
and service to our well-deserved [sic] veterans, is closer to becoming a
reality,” said Bachmann.

The VA has already opened two new CBOC's this year — one in Hibbing and one in Rochester. Another is planned for Rep. Tim Walz's First District, but the second term Congressman, who serves on the House Veteran's Affairs Committee, takes a lower key approach with his advocacy.

Meanwhile, in the Sixth, Bachmann is more or less claiming credit for an as yet unbuilt clinic that was first proposed two years before she was elected.

"Closer to becoming a reality" is as close to reality as Bachmann will ever get.

For five years, I have worked, mostly diligently, to convince you that some conservatives were indeed interested in building a decent world. Now that we've won and the first all-Minnesota presidential ticket is destined for the White House in 2012 — if not sooner — I might as well stop living a lie.

I left a cushy job creating marketing messages for corporate America to become a fake liberal blogger. This job was even cushier — fewer client meetings and working at home — and I took a nice salary bump.

There were drawbacks, of course. I had to quit the golf club. I had to sell the Jag and bike everywhere, even in the winter. Distasteful as it was, I disrespected my political heroes and said some very harsh things about certain political operatives. Now that they run the party, I hope they will remember my mission and treat me kindly. A communications directorship would be nice, with maybe a little side job as an election judge.

I had to attend Drinking Liberally, at least until I seriously relapsed and my bosses put me in rehab. I called it "Colorado." When it appeared my cover might be blown late last year, I started volunteering in homeless shelters.

All that was miserable, but I pressed on for the greater — though not necessarily majority — good.

My only real friend through all this was Jeff, who kept my spirit company here. He did a masterful job of walking the line between a reasonable conservative, an annoying libertarian and the whacko that all of you fear and detest.

Then Wilford Wicklund outed me. Oh, he was sly and I tried to respond with an equally sly comment. But I don't think I was that convincing. Finally, I should start being honest with myself again.

I have a meeting with my handlers this morning. I'm going to tell them my plan to come clean — that I'll lay everything out here. There may be water boarding, to make sure I wasn't a double mole. If they don't let me out alive, no matter.

I've already time-posted the story, and it will appear here, while I either head for the mountains or begin eternity with my savior.